Worked for Thomson fly but was one of the unlucky ones made redundant after the financial crisis.
So was I, I'm back there now. I would say it is still one of the better places to work in the UK. Maybe not like in the "good old Britannia days" you hear so much about, but certainly far from the worst.
Personally I hope TUI don't manage to find sufficient interest in these fixed term contracts which will force them to employ people on proper contracts from day 1. However, I once joined an airline on a 6 month fixed FO contract with a £7k OCC cost. 2 years later I was a full time captain with them. Not saying TUI will definitely keep people on but as others have said it can be a foot in the door to better things and worst case keeps you current if you're currently unemployed.